Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful city sandwiched between the coast of Banderas Bay and mountain ranges behind it, speckled with hundreds of lavish all-inclusive resorts on the beach. Swimming in the ocean, tanning on the beach, enjoying big margaritas, surfing, scuba diving, and snorkeling are all wonderful choices for this sunny Mexican city.

We spent Christmas 2008 in Puerto Vallarta and managed to do some snorkeling. (a first time for Cathy!)

There are many, many oversized tourist charters leaving from the middle of Puerto Vallarta for Los Arcos offering both overcrowded snorkeling and expensive scuba diving. We opted, instead, for a private charter, both cheap and private. Los Arcos is a beautiful rock formation between the cities of Puerto Vallarta and Mismaloya, featuring thousands of friendly, hungry fish.

Harry (our gracious host, bartender and father figure) commissioned a private charter from to meet us at Mismaloya beach early in the morning. (Mismaloya is just a short drive/bus ride south of Puerto Vallarta) Our captain’s name was Daniel and his boat was named the Mantaraya. His boat was one of the newer ones available and he was definitely a charming, and experienced captain. He knew all the best spots around Los Arcos and told us stories about the geological formations in the area. We arrived at Mismaloya beach around 10:00 and then made it to Los Arcos around 10:30. It was important to get there early enough to avoid the crowd. All the tourists boats came out right after we left at 11:00ish.

We were lucky to have the ocean mostly to ourselves. Our captain was throwing chunks of bread into the ocean around us as we swam summoning hundreds of fish, all around us. It was unreal!

If you are planning on enjoying some snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta, hiring a boat is a very good idea. It cost us about 500 Pesos for the 2 hour ride for 4 of us. And our captain, Daniel, also had all the snorkeling gear ready for us, clean and new. It was a great deal.

After the perfect trip, we got back to Mismaloya beach just in time for a delicious lunch at one of the palapas on the beach. Still plenty of time for more drinking well into the afternoon. :)

If you ever go to Puerto Vallarta, definitely use the chance to go snorkeling. The ocean is warm and nice and the fish are spectacular.

Trust us. We’re goodfishies.